Jolo brings Jodi to Imus

By Andrew Jonathan S. Bagaoisan, ABS-CBN News

The covered basketball court at the Narra Homes Subdivision in Imus, Cavite vibrated with shouts and music the afternoon of April 4.

It was no summer sports league. Instead, Imus was having its own version of the many events enveloping the country since March 31–the start of the campaign period for local positions.

At an enlarged stage inside, the candidates of the “Team Saki” slate–named after their mayoral bet Homer Saquilayan–were working up the assembled supporters into cheers.

A live rock band jammed the intro tunes to pop hits like “Call Me Maybe” as each contender was introduced.

The contenders are one side of the intense political battle permeating Cavite that spilled into Imus. They wore azure collared shirts printed with lines in all caps: “No more lies”, “No more deceptions”, “No more corruption”.

The shirts and the speeches hit at the administration of Saquilayan’s opponent, Mayor Emmanuel Maliksi. The two are at odds over Supreme Court and Comelec rulings in March declaring Saquilayan the duly elected mayor of Imus. Maliksi, however, refuses to leave city hall.

But the city candidates (there since noon) were not the only reason for the excited crowd. Even the subdivision guards and barangay watchmen outside were racking their heads over the flow of vehicles entering the already-cramped subdivision from the narrow main road.